Wilderness Revived

     Six Months of dreaming and planning. We have everything on every list we made 150lbs of gear-food-clothes. I Love you Barbara, Thank you very much for jumping on my Dream Vacation with the enthusiasm that you have. It’s like it was your idea or something. Your smile has been the brightest I have seen in a while. You sure are pretty sitting next to me making me look good.

     Today is Friday July 14, 2006. I repacked my drybag Wednesday to try and save some weight. Dropped the extra water filter and a short sleeve shirt. Just could not leave the fleece jacket behind. Don’t think I’ll need fleece jacket or pants but too chicken to be without.

      Glad I took today off work entirely. Remember that! Easy morning and relaxed arrival at airport- did valet parking at offsite garage. Lots of time for the luggage/gear we checked to make the plane. Carry on packs only weigh about 15lbs each, the checked packs weight 35 each and the duffle with raft gear weighs another 35lbs. PFD’s, White Gas and toilet paper are the only things to pick up before we head to the river. I hope our checked packs make the plane – just saw someone’s bag fall off the luggage cart on the tarmac, sitting in the middle of nowhere with no place to go. Bought Al Gores “An Inconvenient Truth” at the airport. Seems like last week I was surfing the Net, thinking of what to do for vacation. Now it seems unreal – it’s actually happening. Took picture of lost bag. It has missed it’s flight.

     Arrived about Noon Saturday and the Denali Grizzly Bear Resort Van was waiting for us. Driver schlepped the bags all the way to our room in the new hotel part of the resort. Yes, it is the same place Dad stayed at last year on his Motorcycle tour. Gift shop next to the check-in office. Dinner across the street at Denali River Cabins. Both of us slept well even though it never got dark. Sunday we got up early, breakfast at DRC, in the park at 7:15, even before the park Visitor Center opened. Hiked the Taiga Trail – checked out the Visitor Center, very nice. Lunch at 9am in the Moreno Grill site of the first Roadhouse in the area. We hiked up Mt. Healy. We had turned back, then met Maggie, a lone woman hiker who said she was going to the top. We were lucky to have met up with her because she gave Barbara the motivation and confidence to keep trying. We made it to the Cold & Windy top with pictures to prove it. Even got a shot of a plane flying in the valley with the plane below us. The trick to hiking mountains is to stop and rest often. Give up all pride, just keep going after each short break. When we got back we had Denali Grub steak for lunch. Basically a Philly cheese steak with Caribou meat. Recovered back @ the hotel and made Alaska Raft reservations for 7:30am Monday. The Canyon Run is the Nenena River, class 3 & 4. Charlotte and Jackie from PA sat between us on the Raft. They were the prototypical cruise ship visitors, 70+ yrs old and this was the most exciting thing they ever attempted. We took them in and made them feel they were part of our group. When Jackie fell over backwards, she did as she was told and kept holding on. Barbara got her back up and Jackie still had the biggest smile on her face. The guide, Greg, asked how she was and all we had to say was how big her smile was. Back to hotel, Lunch at DRC and then into the park on Savage River Shuttle to mile 11. The Great One(Mt. McKinley) was visible, but we are not so sure the pictures will show it very well, but we could see it amongst the clouds. We caught the next bus back to the entrance, then Alpenglow shuttle to shopping. Salmon Bake for lunch/dinner had a Baked Blonde Ale (well 2) and was impressed enough to buy a T-shirt. Strolled through shopping on the other side of the street and found a picture for our living room. “Denali Midnight” at the Princess Wilderness Lodge, they even shipped it home for only $15.00. It shows the Mountain at Midnight and strikes us as communicating the right statement about Mt. McKinley. Shuttle Bus Red Line back to Denali Grizzly Bear Resort and then the TV was making a high pitched sound that the Princess didn’t like. She wanted me to get it fixed, not happening. I was willing to back her up but was not going to take on the challenge myself. Walked to the store/office to buy our bear bells and Barbara asked about getting the TV fixed. The simple fix would be to trade out from a vacant room but all rooms were rented out. The desk clerk said someone would come by to check the TV, maybe it was interference from the TV broadcast system for the RV park. The guy who showed up was the grandson of the owner. Turned the TV on and it did not make the sound, then after a while it did, he heard it too and could not fix it. He left to ask grandpa what to do and came back with a brand new TV in the box. Barbara was smiling bigger than Jackie when the new TV worked perfectly.

     Today was an easy day, breakfast at DRC not the buffet. Packed up and the driver met us at our door @ 11:00 to take us to the train. Checked the big bags at the Park’s Luggage Claim, went to the Riley Creek mercantile. Barbara found a sunglass strap she liked and I bought coffee cup, playing cards and duct tape. Shuttle back to Visitor Center, checked big bags with the train, Lunch @ Morino Grill was $28.00. Spoons, magnets, postcards, etc... at the bookstore and now sitting in the sun on the best bench (out of the wind) waiting for the train – a whole group of people who arrived on the Noon train are still waiting for their ride to their Hotel. Seems like their Luggage has been taken to the hotel but they are getting worried. Sure was nice that we didn’t have any of those kind of problems. Time to pay attention to Barbara now…… then board the train in about 30 min.

     The Train Ride was Awesome, sat on the Canyon side. Saw some Rafters on the Canyon run that we took the day before. There was an older couple across the aisle from us. I talked him into going back to the space between cars where you can open the top half of the door and enjoy the open air view. The view is different when you can feel the wind on your face – Maxx would like it. In the canyon we saw 2 teenagers with a dog climbing back up from the water, had no idea where they accessed the area from or where they would go once they climbed up. With a dog, we figured them to be locals. After the canyon, I went back to sit with the princess for a while then went back to the open air. He was still there and after a while, he spotted a MOOSE. I saw it too, far side of a pond walking out of the water. Evidently the Moose don’t like the trains. Further along sitting in the train car there was another Moose on the right – Barbara saw it too, then on the left a female Moose with 2 little ones. They were so cute, running away through the shallow water they were in. The train called our hotel to let them know we were running late. Even had to have a different engineer join us outside of Fairbanks. State Law says only 12 hours, after 12 they have to stop and wait for another engineer. Sofie Station is a nice place. We went to Fred Meyer’s Store and picked up PFD’s, air horns, toilet paper and beverages. Too Late for dinner at the hotel, ordered Pizza and repacked. We were able to leave a bag at Pikes Waterfront Lodge, about 25lbs worth. Wednesday Morning breakfast was excellent at Sofie Station. Barbara had a “parfait” (Yogurt, nuts, & fruit in an Ice Cream vase that looked like dessert. Got to Wright Air Service Terminal at about 11:30am for the 1pm flight to Fort Yukon(FYU). Camped at the airport. Met Kirk’s girl, Jill, and 2 little boys who where there to meet him when he landed. Beautiful evening with blue skies and a slight breeze. When Kirk came back to change the oil in the plane he mentioned how windy it was up at the Kongakut that day. There was a funeral procession for the Chief of the Village, 3 planes came in, Frontier Air and they all got on a blue tour bus, an hour later they all took off again. We talked to another guy who was camped at the airport, who said he was there to meet a girl for a “Cultural Camp”. Did not sleep all that well. The “throne” at the air terminal was funny looking but effective, though not open in the morning. In the morning, Kirk showed up on a bicycle. The flight up here was amazing. The Yukon Flats are just that. Lots of horseshoe lakes and winding river channels. Near the Continental divide we saw 3 or 4 Caribou on a snowfield. Kirk showed us several of the runways he uses. Pointed out hilltops that he says have lots of Arrowheads. When we landed on the gravel bar we met Mike. He was guarding a pile of gear far a National Geographic 50^th year of something article. It was a big stack of equipment. Cup of Coffee with Mike, then inflated the rafts and Mike took our picture together, then we started out. 4 miles of pure enjoyment. I got a little wet due to foot/suit interface at ankles. Camped at opposite side of River than planned to stay on gravel bar instead of high ground with vegetation.

     Local sunset about 8pm behind Plug Mountain. Sun is not actually down sky will stay light but we are in the shade of the mountain. Barbara found a Caribou antler on the gravel bar as we were walking around, lots of Moose droppings. Boil in the bag meals are great, easy and long handled spoons make then easy to eat. Plan to go to camp 3 tomorrow, 10 miles on the river, to set up for the “Only in the Morning” Canyon on Saturday 7/22.

     This is a beautiful place, so serene and peaceful.  Oh yea, almost forgot about the Air Raid: 2 Artic Terns, seemingly protecting their young repeatedly dive bombed us trying to hit us with manure bombs, chasing us down river. They actually hit me, Barbara tried to shoot them with the water cannon. Hope that the nice weather continues tomorrow. Barbara is asleep, me too soon.

7/21/06

     What a day!  When I got up at 9am, Barbara had already been up for an hour, she had filled the shower with water, nice morning. We were on the river about noon, but it had started raining by then, at least I switched to my wide brim hat before we took off. A little while later I pulled out my warmer hat to wear under the rain hat. Rain isn’t bad when you have a wide brim hat and dry suit on, all the gear protected already so we just went on down the river. We saw 2 Bald Eagles, crossing river left to right, then they circled back right to left. Beautiful birds. Water was too fast and furious to pull camera out just then. Not long after that we saw 2 White spots on the right and kept an eye on them to see if they would move, no movement. Wind hiked up hard and would not quit. Miserable progress. 2 hours later we could see white spots were rocks. Walked the boats awhile. Leashed Barbara’s raft and she like it. Barbara was getting very tired and frustrated going against the wind. Walking her raft, dumped it. Dry Bags are wonderful. Stopped to eat, after we chased down her water cannon. She ran right out of her boot trying to chase it, I was on the gravel and called her off, recovered the water cannon without incident. Those things really make a difference. Cold water in your raft, just pump it out. Lots of walking the rafts, made it to Rock01. Great to get out of the wind for awhile, but no place to setup camp. Taking off Rock01 was scary, water flowing right at it. I shoved Barbara out into the flow, she made it past the Rock just fine, but then the wind pushed her back, she made it down river out of sight and it was my turn. Stayed close to the Rock as I could to avoid the wind, tricky – but made it fine. Barbara pulled off tired and we walked on the gravel bar a while. Barbara found a Moose Jaw with teeth still in it, asked if I wanted her to carry it back to rafts so we could get picture, no. I ran both rafts down to where Barbara was waiting, leap frogged for a while, then Barbara paddled again – very tough paddling against the wind. Saw some bushes on center gravel bar, just west of planned Camp 3, Barbara was a pro and got to the gravel bar. I had a tough time getting there against the wind. Set up camp in lee of the bushes, I have never been so happy to see a bush in my life. Tarp set up with shelf behind us for maps. 47 degrees right now and dropping but at least we are out of the wind. Spaghetti dinner and wondering what is going to be next. Our only plan right now is to stay put until the wind stops. Would like to make Camp 7 on the next push. Good hiking to the East. Rafts are tied to the bushes and rocks weighing them down. That wind is brutal.

7/22

     Rain started after Midnight and has not stopped, now 2:30pm. Walked around the gravel bar to scout were the water is flowing. Seems to have risen a couple of inches at the spot we took out at. Put a stick in the gravel to be a measure. Another stick at the closet place that water is flowing. Saw some Moose tracks on the higher ground, where the bushes are, little baby tracks too. Chili at 5am, Oatmeal at Noon. Barbara won at backgammon. She is the doubles queen. The MEC Mantis is an excellent tarp; versatile, big, blocks wind and can still have a view in the rain. The Neos Overshoes perform as advertised and pack WAY better than the standard Alaska rubber boots. Our bivies make the down bags practical, so far – we’ll need some dry weather to keep the loft up, no problems yet. The MSR Whispererlite Int’l stove boils water fast in the 2 liter pot. The long handled spoons are definitely the way to go with meals in a bag. No gear issues at all. We seem to have everything we need and it is all working well. 49 degrees at 3pm seems to be warming a bit but is still raining.

      4:15 Rain stopped and it’s 56 degrees. The clouds are lifting & I see snow on mountaintops that was not there yesterday. I’m getting a little hungry but Mark is sleeping, so I will wait. We are camping less than ¼ mile from 3 very large “snow patches”. They are pretty, blue/green but a reminder of what this place really is – ARCTIC!!  Oh my, the Sun, maybe – I can only hope. What we really want is a southern wind to push us down river.

      5pm now, Sun did make a brief appearance – temp climbing to 67.5 degrees. Mark’s still snoring away. I finished my sudoku puzzle, I tore from the Wednesday Fairbanks paper. Tried to do the New York Times Crossword puzzle but only got 6 answers out of 128 clues. Back to staring at rocks & singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall. It is all good!!

7/23

     At midnight Mark woke me up to tell me the wind had stopped. I turned over & went back to sleep. Mark says I started snoring. Around 3:30am I woke up & I was really cold. Mark, who was far more alert than I, suggested making a hot meal. He added extra rice & we were stuffed. It was finally time to pack up & take on the rapids. Much to my surprise we quickly entered class II & III, maybe some class IV rapids, for about 3 miles. We had no place to stop, which was good because I would have not gone forward. It was very dangerous, huge rocks with no room for error. We were taking on water & no time to bail. My gear was floating & my inner raft was attempting to make a break – now I’m thanking God as I pass each rock knowing if I had taken that path I would be doing the white water swim or worse. By the time we could stop our boats we were completely full of water & I was too tired to strangle Mark. We dumped all the water from our boats & repositioned our gear – this time tying in our water cannons & anything else not attached. Mark quickly convinced me that the worst was over & we set “sail” again. The next 6-7 miles was much tamer but still challenging as we took on more water. At one point I could see only BOULDERS & no path through but with Mark in the lead he found just the right opening & a quick left then right turn got us through safely. Just 1 mile short of the days goal we stopped & camped for the day. Not 20 minutes after we stopped the rain began to fall. No shelf this time but just inside the door is a small willow & at the head a huge rock. They take some inside room but add to the ambiance. We cooked lasagna with meat sauce & then munch on some more snacks. The rain stopped so we explored the area finding moose tracks, maybe wolf tracts, lots of flowers & holes in the ground for animals we don’t quite know. More rain so we return to our tent. We now notice the purple flowers which are also in our tent. It’s a warm 60 degrees at 3pm and the rain continues. We constantly think of Mike & his group who will be coming through in folbots behind us. They had a mountain of food/gear and we can’t image how they will manage the rapids! I can see the river from here and am looking for them or their gear to float by but remain hopeful they are as BLESSED as we are.

     7pm 60 degrees & it’s raining. After our nap we cooked up some Chicken Primivara & took a hike while it re-hydrated. Lots of micro-grizzlies(mosquitoes) here. At least we are prepared. The sky seems like the clouds are thinner but the rain keeps falling. We saw the animals that live in the hole. Looks like a furry prairie dog. Map-time indicates only about 1 mile of narrow canyon – rapids – ahead then it should be just floating. Rapids are work but much more enjoyable work than paddling into the wind.

     9pm 56 degrees – we begin setting up for sleeping. We have a nice sandy surface tonight. Last 2 nights we were on rocks.

7/24

     8:30am 53 degrees  It was a long night for me. Have we mentioned the nights are as bright as the days. It just does not get dark. Woke up with tent fever but remembered it was Monday & we could be working. I tried going back to sleep but I was hungry. We just ate oatmeal & plan on getting up & about in an hour. Went down to the river to rinse my cup & found another piece of moose antler. Mark spotted a Bald Eagle flying by too! The Sun came out & the sky cleared. We laid out all our wet gear to dry. I even washed my hair. The river water is about 34 degrees so it was a quick wash. While we were waiting for things to dry we spotted 3 then 4 and more Dahl Sheep. It was amazing to see them leap & run on the side of a rock mountain. We had a short stretch of class II rapids & then it was pretty mild. Then the river got so wide it was like being on the ocean. We are just 2+ miles from our take out point. The wind was picking up so we set up camp. We were both tired & after eating went right to sleep. Around 3 or 4 in the morning the wind got so strong it blew our tent/tarp over. Mark jumped up quickly to catch our gear that was being blown away.

Written by Mark on 7/25

7/23-24

      The Sun finally came out, sketchy at first but we started drying out gear and it kept getting better. Eventually we had everything dry, even Barbara’s hair that she really enjoyed having cleaner. While we were drying out, Barbara spotted Dahl Sheep on the hillside to the west. They were frolicking in the warmth of the sunshine and grazing on particular plants. We couldn’t tell which plants they referred but scuffles over who got to eat where were obvious but playful. One was perched on a rock face to get at a desirable plant. When he left another went to the same place, but didn’t find any left. We packed and got the boats ready then suited up down by the river. It was so warm we did not want the dry suits on until the last minute. The Map showed only one tricky canyon left, and it was only 1 mile down stream. We made it through without incident but I took on enough water to pump quite a bit. Just a glorious day for floating. Clear blue skies and fast flowing water. Several spots that challenge our wits – one in particular with the flow sucking you into a rock face then 20 yards later, a whirlpool waiting to grab you. We successfully avoided both –but not my much. We pulled over at mile 29 to check out the Extra Runway that Kirk had mentioned (and yesterday we both accepted may be our finish). We saw a brilliant Artic Flower that we had not seen before, there were yellow ones and white ones. Pictures describe them better, with Barbara’s foot for size reference. We pulled off at mile 31 for a bite to eat and to watch a Bald Eagle teach 2 or 3 youngsters how to catch updrafts. The wind was moderate out of the North and a Cliff/hill facing North along the river was producing updraft that the Adult was sailing effortlessly on. The youngsters were smaller, solid color and following every move the Adult was making. We toyed with the idea of staying there was a good stand of bushes to block the North Wind, but no hiking due to multiple channels between us and the mainland. As we went onward the River changed character into a broad sheet of water, channels were evident, but land/gravel bars were flooded over. Even the bush covered areas, that looked from a distance to be decent campsites had sheets of water flowing over them. We were both getting tired and I was getting irritable. Looking for any place to set up camp out of the North Wind. We pulled out several times only to find that once we stood up, there was no place to camp at the spot. I eddied out at mile 39 and saw a possible campsite, we left the rafts to check it out. Across 2 small channels we found Camp 4. Beautiful view out the front of the Tarp to the South. Barbara was famished but I took the time to prepare camp before cooking the evening meal. Barbara did a fantastic job weighting the perimeter of the tarp down with rocks while clearing the sleeping area of those rocks. This was the first site we set up at that the skeeters earned the nickname “micro-grizzlies” and Barbara was determined to keep her blood where it belongs. Camp preparations were performed in full bug suites and when dinner was over we celebrated our good fortune with the sunshine and our skeeter proof tarp set up. As we were relaxing, recanting the day’s events, we noticed the wind had changed, now breezing from the South out of the Canyon. We figured it would change 4 or 5  times through the night, and since our setup was so secure we decided to be protected from the Cold North wind was the important point and we left it as it was and went to sleep. The screen knocked the force out of the wind and the air pressure – no where for the wind to go – kept the breeze out of our shelter. About 5am a big gust of wind turned our tarp into a kite! I was out of my bag and running downwind in my sock and underwear while the tarp was still going up. Chased down Barbara’s Orange stuff sack and sleeping bag stuff sack then turned around to see what I could catch coming down wind. Nothing was racing towards me, so I ran back to the tent – intent on not letting the pole get broken. The front anchor had held, keeping the tarp from moving, when it returned to the ground Barbara was still underneath trying to keep gear from blowing away. I grabbed the tarp at the pole and tried to hold it in place. I needed help to have it under control but Barbara was still trying to collect all the loose gear. She came up with the idea to put everything into the Bivies and warned me my sleeping bag was making a break for it. I grabbed the bag, found Barbara’s hat also blowing away, and handed them under the tarp for her to stuff into the bivies. We tried to turn the tarp around but it just was not going to work without building a rock wall to anchor the backside. We selected a new site North of the bushes, nice sandy soil (at least). We again have a willow bush and purple flowers (Sofie Station had some purple flowers in our room too) to add to the ambiance of our now North facing shelter. We cooked breakfast and walked around our gravel bar. Lunch was Sweet & Sour Pork for me and Chicken Fajitas for Barbara. After lunch we took advantage of the sunshine and lack of skeets (the wind is still blowing hard out of the south) to shower. I even shaved. Quite pleased with our escape from disaster (again). Then it was nap time for Barbara. She’s waking up now and I’ll sign off.

     On Wednesday morning the sun was still shining and we packed up for the final 2+ miles on the river. It was a pleasant float. Kept checking the GPS to make sure we didn’t pass the runway. Kirk had given me the coordinates but the river was making a big turn to the west and the “go to” arrow was pointing off the river. Eventually we saw the blue fuel barrels. I was floating right past them in a current too strong to stop along the edge and hollered back to Barbara “get out”, she still had a decent place to stop. I continued onward and found an almost still channel to eddy out into and paddled within 100 yards of the barrels. The runway extended West from the barrels, most of the flags (marker ribbon) were down but you could see the tire tracks from the planes and the runway was apparent. We put rocks in the boats to keep them in place and single portaged the gear to a flat spot south of the barrels with willows to tie off the Tarp in defense of the wind coming out of the North. Once we set up the tarp we found it too hot to be under. Out of the wind it was very warm 75 degrees. We laid out the wet gear to dry and went back for the boats. We let the air out to prevent them from blowing away in the wind. After lunch, we went for a walk to explore the Tundra to the south hoping to reach the hill side, but were stopped by water channels – we had our hiking shoes but not our over boots – and so we returned to camp. On the way back a bird, maybe a falcon convinced us to change our course. Perhaps we were a little too close to it’s nest. Once we changed direction, the bird left us alone. We could see rain to the south and to the west headed our way. So we packed up the rafts before they got wet again. We laughed about someone who might come along wondering where our boat(s) went. Tarp set up with one paddle, another laying on the ground, life jackets still out (still wet) but no boats in sight.

     It was a cold rain and cooled off the air quite a bit. As we sat under the tarp in the rain, we wondered where the Moose was who left all the tracks around the area. Soon we had entertainment. Two Arctic Squirrels showed up across the channel right in front of our tarp. They rock hopped across the channel and were digging in the sand within 10 ft of the tarp. Netting covers the entire front half of the tarp so we had a great view. We were fascinated and kept quiet and still, didn’t even want to reach for the cameras for fear of spooking them away. Finally reached for the cameras as slowly and quietly as possible. Pictures through the netting first then I stood up to unzip the top of the netting and got some great shots of them. Soon they became intrigued with the gear we had laying about. One tried to climb my hiking pole but kept sliding back down the shaft. When he started chewing on a paddle I said “No” in a firm voice. He stopped as if he understood and pranced away to the left. The other reacted much more urgently and rock hopped back across the channel. We saw them several times again and even found their home about 50 yards south of us at the base of a willow bush on a small(3ft) hill, ridge. The small furry mammal we saw at Camp 3 was probably a squirrel also but seemed a little bigger. We’ll check the field guides to find out if there are any other animals it could have been. Rained off and on and was much cooler than the previous 3 days. Overnight Barbara finally got to see a small sample of the Alpenglow that I had seen the previous 2 nights. It is much more impressive with a totally clear sky but the sample on the hillside to the south was pretty too. After breakfast we collected some more rocks and after lunch we tried to make it to the snowfield that is to the west. We were stopped again by channels. Get wet or stay dry? We chose to stay dry. Lounging in the shelter has been luxurious here due to figuring out that we could use our raft floors(insul-mat air mattresses) in combination with our thermarest chairs to create awesome lounge chairs with our legs up off the cold ground. It’s been a real treat to improve our comfort level and our bones were getting sore from being on the ground. The off and on rain continues and we get out for a walk whenever it stops. Another wave of cold, foggy rin has come from the west but we are pretty comfy with our Super Lounge chairs inside our bivies. All the rafting gear is dry and packed, save one paddle that is holding up front of the tarp. The rest of the gear is protected under the tarp with us, plenty of room. We are wondering less about Mike and his folbot group and more about how much food we have left. Neither of us think Kirk can land the plane in this foggy weather. The Cloud ceiling is sometimes as low as 10 or 20 feet but is at 50-100ft some of the time. Tomorrow morning is the scheduled pickup, about 9 – 9:30am. We figure with Kirk leaving Fort Yukon around 7:30 he’d get here about then. If he isn’t worried about the weather. Given the weather is iffy, he’ll likely wait a little longer before taking off. We have food for one extra day and figure the small barrel next to the fuel barrels has emergency rations in it. All hope is that we’ll ask Kirk what is in the small barrel instead of opening it ourselves. Our plan to be all cleaned up and packed up waiting for the plane may be altered due to the weather. No fun taking a shower in the Cold Rain – VOICES !!!

     6 hours later……

          We sprang out of our lounge chairs, I reached for my boots and began lacing them up. Barbara ran out of the shelter in her socks. Three folbots cruising down the river, about in the place where I had hollered back to Barbara “get out”. The two in the lead seemed to know exactly where they were going- the back channel eddy out that I had eventually found. Mike and Jon Waterman (who wrote the story in “National Geographic Adventure” magazine about the couple who were attacked by a Grizzly on the HulaHula River last year.) pulled their boats ashore and said Hello. Paddling in the rear was John Burcham (Photographer) and he pulled up less than a minute later. After pleasantries we left them to give them time to set up camp – looked like more rain soon, and yes, it rained within 15-20 min. They got the tents set up in time but not enough time for a meal. We cooked our last hot meal, chicken fajitas for Barbara  and Sweet & Sour Pork for me, both with extra rice. We thought how nice the Tarp was for cooking in the rain and always having a view. When rain stopped 2 hours later I went out to skip rocks, John Burcham came over to talk, soon Mike and Jon Waterman crawled out of their tents and joined the conversation. Rapids in the Only in the Morning Canyon was the lead story. Bear sightings, One Young Caribou, the weather, other trips, other rivers in Alaska were close behind. Oil interest in the 1002 region, general exploitation of wilderness and how to ensure the protection of this ecosystem followed. With the rain returning John & Jon asked about the possibility of procuring any dry bags we might have available (I didn’t see how – as ours were our airline baggage and we simply didn’t have other containers to put stuff in.) and if we could tote some gear back to civilization for them to lighten their load a bit the rest of the way to “Katovik” They were continuing on through the Delta region and then (I think) along the coast to catch a scheduled flight out of “Katovik”. I figured we can haul some gear out for them, our load is pretty light for the bush plane, even Kirk noticed and mentioned how he liked our small load. I told him how little time we have left in Alaska, flight out of Fairbanks Saturday.. Details of how they will recover their gear are not solved yet. Maybe Kirk can hold it for them. If nothing else we can mail it to them c/o General Delivery in Fairbanks. Back to the shelters to get out of the rain. Later on Rain stopped, Sun came out for a brilliant sunset over the peak to the NW. Amazing soft amber light, many pictures. John Burcham had his big camera and lenses out, I was snapping away with my Pentax WPI.  John B. said they had a fish nibble on the line … oh yea, we went over to talk with one of our “copper bags” (OR Summit Sack) for John B. and 3 very large zip lock bags. Their trip is to record pictures & video of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for National Geographic. Wow, what a gig. We wanted to help protect the camera gear that the success of their trip depended on and JB had mentioned he had spent 9 summers in Denali. He wanted to pay us money for the dry bag, we told him we just wanted to know more about the good places to go in Denali. We traded email addresses and then tried to catch some fish, none were caught. It was after 11 pm so we all retired for the night. Barbara noticed the time was 11:11 on my watch when we were back in the tarp. While I was writing, Barbara noticed the excellent colors in the sky to the west, more pictures left my camera with only one bar of battery power so I took a few more with her camera, then it shut down due to battery running out. Saving the last bit of power in mine for shots of the plane landing in the morning. It just started raining again, so I leaned forward to look at the sky – all looks good for our pickup in the morning and this shower is dying out in the time it has taken to write about it. I need some sleep too.

This portion Written by Barbara

7/28

     5:30am IT IS FOGGY!!!! Mark says it rolled in about 3am. My first thought “this is not good” but I also know the fog can burn off quickly. I had set – for the first time – my “temperature in my pocket” device to “go-off” wake us up at 6am – we wanted to be ready for when Kirk arrived. I didn’t want to miss the flight home, mostly for the shower!!  I did my best to not wake Mark but at 7:20 I finally woke him as some of the fog was lifting. I knew he had been awake most of the night not wanting the trip to end. The sky cleared quickly but to the west a storm appeared to be heading our way. We faithfully packed up & the NG group were arising too.  It turned into a lazy morning. We were packed & ready to depart by 10:30. We really thought Kirk would arrive about 9:30 but we were sure he would arrive soon. The NG group pushed off about 11:30. It was very nice to talk with them. Each one told us how they respected our courage for setting out on such an adventure on our own. We took pictures of them & they of us. It was a beautiful day, full sun & just enough wind – mother natures air condition/bug deterrent – to keep the mosquitoes away. I finally decided to wash my hair. Again the water was 34 degrees but I was desperate. Mark shaved & it was a great way to kill time. We both kept up hope Kirk mad some pressing issue or he would have been there. About 2:15 we finally spotted his plane & quickly packed up our gear. Kirk was in a hurry & would explain the delay after take off. We were back in the air within 10 minutes of his arrival. Kirk explained that the party he was scheduled to fly out the previous day did not receive their “luggage/gear” & was delayed waiting it’s arrival. Kirk had re-routed our flight reservations from Artic Village to Fort Yukon and contacted Wright Air that we would arrive about 4pm which was our scheduled departure. Seems they all work together closely & this change of plans would be just fine. I forgot to mention that the NG group was unable to get their satellite e-mail service to work so we had promised to make calls to their loved ones to let them know all was fine. I cannot put into words the feeling of such an important mission. Knowing that our families were anxiously waiting for our call to let them know we were back from one of the most remote places in the U.S.  When we arrived in Fort Yukon Kirk’s family was there to greet him & several other “travelers” wanting to hear our story. They would be heading out the next day on a hunting adventure, not their first. From Fort Yukon we flew to Birch Creek for a quick loading of freight. There were huge flies that boarded too but quickly disappeared after takeoff.

     When we arrived in Fairbanks I went directly to the “house” phone and used my parents 800 number to let them know we were safe and sound once again. I knew it was already after 9 and did not want to call any later. While on the phone, Mark found more “sovouniers” to purchase, another hat this one with Wrights Air Logo and more postcards. We paid and requested that Jon Waterman’s bag be held until his return in mid August, no problem. We then called for a cab to take us to the National Rental Car so we could pickup our car. It was now about 6:30pm and we had skipped breakfast this morning trying to expedite the packing of our gear, skipped lunch waiting for Kirk and we were VERY hungry. The Gal who drove the taxi told us about a place, really close, called the Pump House – historic building --- great food – now I’m interested. The Pump House was a beautiful old building, fancy dishes/place settings – and us straight from a 8 day river trip – they let us in and served us one of the best if not the best meals we can remember. The only real competition is the Phantom Ranch Steaks at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We toasted of success first with glasses of ice water, then again when our Miller Lite's arrived. Fresh bread, then dinner salads followed by the Mushroom appetizers – unbelievably good – I ordered Salmon & Mark Halibut – they were served on a small bed of rice and lots of veggies. We both finished every bite and one more beer. Then they tempted us with dessert – too full – but wait we can take them to go. Mark chose the cheesecake and I chose the Apple Cobbler.  Pike’s Waterfront Lodge was nice. We had a balcony which walked out right into the thick of things. There was a Paddle Boat passing by, a wedding party out on the deck from the hotel restaurant, jet skiers, tourist and locals all having a great time on Friday night in Fairbanks at 7pm, sunny skies and temps in the high 70’s. We made ourselves go over to the Restaurant / Bar and have a beer – our room & balcony were much more enjoyable. We returned to the room to enjoy the view from the balcony.

     The next morning we woke about 8am and went back to Zach’s (Sophie’s Station Restaurant) to have breakfast. I was looking forward to another Parfait. Service was a bit slower this time and we needed to stop at Fred Meyer for a few things. It was now 10:40 and check out time was 11:00 so we made arrangements with the front desk to be out by noon. We still had to pack everything up, this time including all our souvineers, and take showers. Not a moment to spare we were at the front desk at 11:59 checking out.

     We now had about 5 hours to see Fairbanks before boarding our first flight to Anchorage. First we went to the University of Alaska to look at their book store / gift shop. We found Jonathon Waterman’s book “Where Mountains are Nameless” and bought a copy along with 2 other books on Alaska. Next we headed for downtown, Mark somehow just always knows just were to turn and finds just what we need, when I saw the Welcome to Downtown Fairbanks sign I knew we were there. We parked on 2^nd street and started looking for a place to eat – because of course I was hungry again. The only place we saw was Soapy Smith’s Restaurant or something like that which did not look that good to me. We walked through a bead shop but it had nothing on Mom’s collection of supplies so we moved on the many little shops. We completed the block of shops and I was now too hungry to refuse trying Soapy Smith’s. When we entered about 2:30pm everyone seemed to be leaving and the “host” was too busy taking money to seat us. After about 10 minutes we finally offered to seat ourselves, once seated Mark went back and got us some menus. The host was now apologizing and making nice talk as our server arrived at the table. He was a character to say the least and making the most of it too. We quickly ordered beers, which our server noted would improve our impression of the service. We ordered burgers and all was well in our world again. We returned to shopping turning the corner and over to 1^st street where we found Big Ray’s. Big Ray’s is Mark’s kind of store – Gear lots of Gear. Just as we were checking out I noticed they had a down stairs and was nice enough to tell Mark. Turns out I was the lucky one, found a great backpack to carry home our additional purchases.

     We decided we were shopped out and we might as well head to the airport a little early. On our way we spotted Pioneerland, an assembly of log cabins moved from “downtown”, 1^st & 2^nd street where we had just been shopping. No admission fee, we were in, an huge old paddle boat was on display in dry dock storage of course. A couple dozen old cabins now leased out to local artist selling their goods. We browsed through the shops but left without purchasing one thing. We took several cards so we could shop online if we had any regrets.

     We tried to return the rental car to the airport but no spots were available so off the the “off airport” office we went, which is where we picked up the car anyway. After waiting in a short line that took a long time, we finally got the car turned in and another cab ride back to the airport. We had a scheduled 7:35 departure and were at the Alaska Airlines ticket counter at 5pm. Apparently this was to be our “return to reality” portion of our trip. We were informed that Expedia had booked us on a flight that did not run on Saturday so they rebooked us on another flight. This real problem was that their new flight arrangement had us landing 42 minutes AFTER our connecting flight to O’Hare was scheduled to leave. Sandra Madison was our ticket agent, maybe not the quickest on the computer but she would soon prove herself and show he true customer service talent. Sandra called in all of the troops but nobody could find a flight that would get us into Anchorage in time to meet our connection. In the mist of all this confusion the “host” from the restaurant we had lunch at show up to check in for his flight and recognizes us. He now formally introduces himself as Nick Stepovitch, son of the Governor, such a small world. Oh, wait, Frontier Airlines had a flight leaving in 20 minutes and were taking passengers on a first come first serve basis. We gathered our now 175lbs of luggage and headed to the other end of the terminal – 200 yds – to Frontiers’ ticket counter. Oops, turns out they already have 7 standby passengers and too much freight so they have to remove a seat. It is now 6:15, I get on the phone with Expedia to try to get help as it was clear this was their mistake. The first customer service rep was apparently looking at the original schedule and could not understand how the ticket agent could say we would not arrive on time to meet our connection. I suggested he call the airline directly to discuss / confirm what we were telling him. He put me on hold but after 10 minutes Sandra came running, she was on break but had found two other possible flights for Expedia to check. While Mark went to get Sandra a soda, we waited 5 more minutes on hold and then were disconnected. Oh the Joy. I quickly called back, starting from the beginning again receiving the same lack of understanding from the customer service rep. I told her I had a ticket agent standing right next to me and put Sandra on the phone. Sandra proceeded to provide the facts and had to return to work. Now the customer service rep decides they will make arrangements for us to stay in Anchorage and fly home the next day. Never mind that their plan would not have gotten us home until Monday at 6am, now they were telling me to contact American Airlines(partner with Alaska airlines) to cover the hotel expense. My previous false niceness just disappeared, as I proceed to give the Expedia customer service rep at matter of FACT understanding of our situation --- Sandra comes running down the terminal again. This time she has found and booked us on an Alaska Airlines flight that was original scheduled to depart at 2:45pm but had been delayed and would be departing within the next 30 minutes.  Whoo hoo, we could make our connecting flight. Thank goodness by this time Mark had located a luggage cart. We quickly push our luggage back to the Alaska Airline ticket counter, check our luggage and get our boarding passes. We rush upstairs, clear security and find our departing gate, Fairbanks airport really is not that big we departed from gate 4, I’m thinking they only had 4 gates. No agent at the ticket counter, one of the 4 “stewardess” waiting quickly let us know they were not ticket agents and did not know where the ticket agent was but one would surely be back soon. We were thirsty, a bar right next to the gate, how convenient for us. We downed a quick beer and while Mark paid I ran to the gift shop still looking for my souveneer sweatshirt, but found nothing. We returned to the gate area and our plane was just arriving. As the passengers departed it became clear that there were only 5 passengers book on the whole flight!  The two guys in front of us, who obviously spent more time in the bar than us, quickly talked the ticket agent into upgrading them to first class. We jumped on that bandwagon and upgraded to first class too, free of charge. Sometimes things just work out. On board we had a stewardess for every passenger and they were having fun with it. Free drinks, a double shot of Tequila for me and a beer for Mark. Bags of peanuts were flying through the air faster than Mark could catch them. It was a short but enjoyable flight to Anchorage but party time was over we had 30 minutes to check-in and catch our next flight. Once again luck was with us and our next flight was delayed by 20 minutes – we had time to eat before our all night flight to Chicago. We spotted Chili’s on the way to our gate so we quickly returned, bypassed the long line waiting to get in because Mark spotted 2 open seats at the bar. We sat down and the bartender was waiting for our orders. When our drinks arrived we ordered our food and where happy little campers again. While waiting for our food we heard the young man next to us talking about his time in Iraq. He was in his early 20’s, as we conversed with him we learned he was a navy man home on leave from Iraq. He showed us his scars and told us the story of how his “gunman” was blown away and all he got was some schrapnal in his hand. We picked up his drinks and told him how much we appreciated his sacrifice and service to our country. Leaving Mark to pay again, I rushed to the bathroom and then the gift shop for one last chance at a sweatshirt, nothing but you just can’t have everything go your way.

     We boarded our plane and settled in for the long flight to Chicago. We arrived around 7am Sunday morning, all our luggage arrived, got the shuttle van to our car, stopped at Denny’s for some breakfast and headed for home. Mark drove for about 30 or 40 minutes while I napped but woke me when he could no long keep his eyes open. I jumped in the drivers seat and Mark was asleep in no time. I didn’t last long, maybe 45 minutes to an hour but just enough so that Mark was able to drive all the way to Decatur. A quick stop at the grocery store and we were home just after noon.